Family is Forever
by packleader96
Summary: When an old face from Applejack's past returns to haunt her, it is up to Applejack along with her friends and family to stop this new foe, before he destroys them all. rated T for Language, Violence, and Some Sexuality.
1. prologue

**A/N: this is the first option that you can vote for on the poll, enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: prologue**

It was a bright and shiny day in the peaceful town of PonyVille, the sun shined brightly in the sky, as everypony went about their daily business, the market place was full of ponies going about their day, while others went to work, everypony seemed to be happy, all but one.

Nopony seemed to pay attention to the mysterious stallion, walking through the market place with a black cloak on, and his hood up; nopony seemed to bother him as he made his way through the crowd, many of the ponies didn't even acknowledge his existence, but those who did, when they came to ask them a question, he would neither look nor speak to them, all he did was continue walking, eager to make his way out of the crowd.

After maneuvering his way out, he kept on walking through the streets, until he stopped in front of a building, in which he saw multiple ponies going in and out, he looked up at the sign that read 'Sugar cube Corner' on the sign that was hanging above the door.

"seems like a good place to start" he said in a low voice, with a slight southern accent. He made his way into the building, as he stepped in, the smell of fresh baked sweets filled his nose, but he wasn't here to eat.

He breathed in calmly, as he made his way up to the counter, the ponies in the room paid little attention to him, as they were busy doing their own things, they had no reason to pay any attention to him. When he reached the counter, he saw a small bell on the top; he looked around and raised his hoof up, and brought it down gently on it, just as he did it made a light ringing sound.

He waited for a few minutes, when he heard a voice come from the kitchen, "Pinkie can you get this one?" came a female voice from the kitchen, just as the voice said, a pink earth pony with a puffed up mane, slowly rose from behind the counter, with a wide smile on her face.

"hi! My names Pinkie Pie, welcome to sugar cube corner, I've never seen you around here, are you new, what's your name, and what can I get you?" she said in a fast pace, catching the strange stallion off guard, but he cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"sorry Miss Pie, but I'm not here to eat, I just arrived in town after being gone for a few years, I'm looking for a certain mare, maybe you can help me?" he said in an honest tone as he lowered his hood, revealing an earth pony with a light red coat, to Pinkie he reminded her of big mac.

After he asked his question, the two fell silent, Pinkie was staring at him with a suspicious look on her face, but the stallion remained calm, they stayed like that for what seemed like a few minutes, just then, Pinkie broke out in a huge grin, "sure no problem, I know everypony in this town, what's the mares name?" she asked leaning in closer, as he did as well.

He looked around himself, to make sure nopony was listening in on their conversation.

"her name…is Applejack, do you know where I can find her?" he asked in a low voice, Pinkie's eyes widened in surprise, she leaned her head back, and rested her front hooves on the counter top, her wide grin had returned.

"of course I can, she one of my best friends, she lives on her farm, with her older brother, as well as her husband and her son" she said with a smile, the last part appeared to throw him off, as his eyes widened in surprise.

He turned back to the pink mare, "well thank you Miss Pie, I'll be going now" he said as he slowly began to turn around, but was stopped by Pinkie, "wait, if you want Applejack and her husband are coming by here later today, you can wait around until they do if you want?" she asked with a slightly sad look on her face.

He didn't bother to turn around to answer her, he just turned his head slightly in her direction, "no thank you, but it would be a big help Miss Pie, if you deliver a message for her" he said, as he turned around to face her, all Pinkie Pie did was nod, he breathed in sharply, "tell her…" he began by saying as he turned around, and faced the door, "tell her that, Appleshine is back in town" he said as he began walking to the door.

Pinkie didn't bother to stop him this time; she just shrugged her shoulders, and walked away.

As he was walking towards the door, the ponies entering failed to notice the evil smile on his face, as he walked out the door and closed it behind him.

**A/N: well there's the first choice, hope you all enjoyed, the poll is on my profile page.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: hey what's up everybody, I apologize for my temporary absence, but school is a pain, anyway, here's the next chapter for this story, the order in which the stories will be updated will differ, so keep a look out for the other chapter updates.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 1: disturbing news**

It was a beautiful day in the town of PonyVille, as two of our favorite heroes, walked through the streets of the town, "ugh, why are we doing this again, Pinkie is probably just asking for our help pulling some prank" Dark Star complained, as they walked down the street towards Sugarcube corner, his complaints only earned him a stern look from his wife.

"come on Dark Star, she doesn't always do that, she said she wanted our help, ah think it was something about tasting a new recipe she made herself, why she would choose us, ah am not sure" she said in her southern accent.

As they kept talking, they slowly came closer to the building; they both smiled and walked in the door.

Inside, the room was filled to its usual capacity of customers, just looking for a sweet treat, they looked around for their friend, when suddenly she appeared in front of them nearly scaring Dark Star to death, but it did not affect Applejack after being used to it for so many years.

"hi you two, glad you could make it, right this way" she said as she happily trotted away, Applejack just chuckled and followed her, while Dark Star recovered from his temporary shock, but quickly joined them.

Pinkie led them both to a table near the kitchen, and they both took a seat, but Dark Star's curiosity got the better of him, "hey Pinkie, you could at least tell us why we are here?" he said, Pinkie turned to him with her usual big smile, "oh, you'll find out, just wait here" she said as she slowly backed up into the kitchen, Dark Star just turned to Applejack, she only smiled at him.

After a few minutes of talking, Pinkie appeared again holding two plates, with slices of pie on it, she walked over to them, and placed one in front of them, Applejack just turned to her friend with a confused look.

"Uh pardon me sugarcube, but this just looks like an ordinary slice of apple pie?" she said, Pinkie smiled again, "just wait until you have a taste, I'm sure you will both like it" she said, AJ and Dark Star just looked at each other, and shrugged, both of them taking a fork and picking up a piece of their pie, and bringing it up to their mouths.

Placing it in their mouth, they both began to chew, after a few seconds, their eyes widened, and Pinkie's smile grew wider, they both swallowed, and looked at each other with smiles on their faces, Dark Star turned to Pinkie with smile.

"Wow, this is probably the best pie, I've ever tasted" he said, but Applejack shot him a look and he shrunk back in his seat, with a nervous chuckle.

But Applejack turned to Pinkie with a smile, "I agree, it's delicious, what did you put in it?" she asked, Pinkie turned to her with a mischievous grin, and laughed.

"well, I have the ingredients written down, I'll give them to you later" she said walking back into the kitchen, but was stopped by Applejack, "well while you're at it, we'll take a couple of these things to go" she said, Pinkie smiled, "you got it" she said as she walked back into the kitchen.

(Later…)

After they had talked for a little longer, they all got up, Dark Star paid for their meal, and the pies they had ordered, and decided to wait outside.

A few minutes of talking, Pinkie Pie walked out the door, with a couple of large boxes, in her mouth; she walked up to them and placed them in front of Applejack.

"alright, I'll see you two at the party later tonight, bye for now" she said as she began walking away, Applejack leaned down and grabbed the string that held the box's together in her mouth, and the two began walking away, but before they got a couple of feet away, they heard Pinkie call out to them once again.

"Oh wait, I forgot to tell you something!" she said as she ran up to them, turning to Applejack, she stopped and took a deep breath, "I forgot to tell you, that earlier today, a strange stallion came into the shop looking for you Applejack, he said he was an old family friend" she said, Applejack just had a confused look on her face, having the boxes in her mouth, she looked up at Dark Star.

"Well, did he give you a name or anything?" he asked, Pinkie thought about it for a minute, and finally remembered, "oh yeah, I think he said his name was…Appleshine, said he knew you" she said, the name didn't seem familiar to him, but when he turned to look at his wife, he was shocked by what he saw.

Applejacks mouth was wide open, and her eyes were wide, Dark Star could recognize the pure fear in her eyes, even after all the stuff he had seen in his life, the expressions his wife were giving him, were enough to make his blood run cold, he watched as the string fell from her mouth and the boxes hit the ground, but none of them seemed to notice.

"Applejack, are you okay?" he asked with a very concerned expression, when she didn't answer, he put a hoof on her shoulder, this finally seemed to snap her out of her apparent trance.

"Uh, sorry about that, but what did you say his name was?" she asked, both Dark Star and Pinkie gave her a curious look, "yeah, he said his name was Appleshine or something" she said, Applejack cringed at the very mention of that name, as her previous expression returned.

"Applejack is something wrong, are you feeling okay" Dark Star said, snapping Applejack out her trance like state, she looked around nervously, as if trying to find something to say to him, suddenly a nervous smile appeared on her face, "oh I should go, see you back at the ranch Dark Star, bye Pinkie, thanks again" she said before she took off in the direction of the ranch, leaving her husband and best friend, with clueless expressions on their faces.

"Wow, what's gotten into her?" Pinkie asked, Dark Star just continued staring down the path she ran off in, "haven't the slightest idea, I'll go check on her, see you later Pinkie" he said as he, grabbed the boxes and took off into the air, in the direction of the ranch.

**A/N: ooh, I love suspense don't you, well that's all for now, tune in next time to see what happens.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: well, here's the next chapter, I apologize for my periods of absence, but like I said school is a pain, well, enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 2: encounter in the barn**

After hearing the disturbing news from her friend, Applejack had bolted home, leaving a very confused and worried Dark Star behind, she knew she would have to tell him, later, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

The name of the pony that Pinkie Pie had mentioned, still echoed off in her head, "it can't be true, it just can't, it's been so long, ah have to warn everypony, but before ah do, ah have to make sure" she said as she approached the farm, running as fast as her hooves could carry her, she knew she had to slow down, trying to avoid any suspicion, she didn't want to alert her family, just in case it was a joke, or just her hearing things, she couldn't tell.

As she walked up to the door, she slowed to a stop, and took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her brow, after regaining her composure, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

As she walked in, she heard the sounds of her son and brother laughing, as she passed by the kitchen, Solar Glaze walked out with a smile on his face, "hey mom, how was the visit to Aunt Pinkie?" he asked, Applejack looked down at him, and tried her best to smile, "oh, it was good, your father and Pinkie decided to chat, so I ran ahead, he'll be along in a few minutes" she said with a nervous smile.

Solar Glaze had a suspicious look on her face, leaving Applejack surprised; she must really be obvious, knowing that her son could see right through her, "hey mom, are you feeling okay?" he asked, Applejack smiled at him, "oh yeah, don't you worry, just a little tired, finish up with your chores, ah think ah might take a quick nap, and then get ready, see you later" she said walking away and up the stairs, being the element of honesty, her ability to lie was not very strong, but she couldn't reveal the truth to her son, he wouldn't understand.

When she reached her room, Applejack closed the door quietly behind her, a heavy breath escaped her lips, and she began pacing back in fourth, after a few minutes, she heard the front door of the house open again, and began hearing two pairs of voices speaking, one of them she recognized as her husband, after a few minutes of talking, she heard a pair of hooves walking up the steps, and towards the door.

She backed away from the door, and decided to sit on the side of the bed, only a few seconds later the door opened up and in walked Dark Star, with a worried look on his face, Applejack tried her best to smile but failed, Dark Star walked over and sat next to her on the bed.

"Applejack, what's wrong, you just ran off after Pinkie told you, about that one stallion, you know you can tell me anything, were all worried about you" he said, Applejack sighed sadly, and turned to him, "it's…I don't know, I'm sure it was just my imagination, pulling tricks on me, I'm fine really I am, you can all stop worrying about me, if there was ever anything wrong, of course I would tell you" she said with a smile, Dark Star smiled too, they both leaned in and shared a quick kiss, before they got off the bed.

"Well, if you're sure, we still need to get ready for Pinkie's party, but before that, I think Big Mac needs help putting the carts back in the barn" he said, Applejack smiled and nodded, and they both walked off, Dark Star went to go freshen up, while Applejack joined her older brother.

(Later…)

After they had finished pulling in most of the carts, both of them had worked up quite a sweat, especially Applejack, she grunted as she pulled the last cart into the barn, and saw Big Mac walking past her, "ah'll be right up, just let me put this one away" she said, Big Mac just nodded and left the barn, leaving the door open wide.

After he left, she put the cart in its place, right next to the others, and began tying them up, but as she was working, she did not notice as the door slowly began to close behind her, she only noticed when she heard the locks on the doors, click shut.

The noise startled her, and she spun around, looking in all directions, she remembered what she told herself, it was only her imagination, it was surely the wind that closed the door, but she felt she had to make sure.

"Dark Star, is that you?" she asked but received no answer, "Solar Glaze, if that's you come out, don't be playing joke's on your mom" she said again, but still received no answer, the fear she had felt earlier began to return, she slowly began walking towards the door, hoping she could get out.

When she reached the door, she tried to pull it open, but found that it was shut tight, and then it hit her, that the locks for the barn were on the outside of the door.

Now she was panicking, sweat began to pour down her face, as she tried pulling harder on the door, hoping that it would open for her, but it remained unmoving, just as she tried again, she heard a bone-chilling laugh come from behind her, one that sounded faintly familiar.

She spun around fast, and looked in all directions for the source, she felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest, she got down on all fours, as walked into the middle of the room.

"who's there, show yourself" she demanded in a brave voice, but it failed when suddenly a deep voice spoke up, one that had no origin, "it's been a long time…little sis" she heard a voice say, it had a slightly southern accent to it, she began looking all around, until she finally spotted something up in the rafters, she looked up, and saw the outline of a pony lying on one of the rafters, she could not make out the face, but he seemed to have a straw of hay in his mouth, and what appeared to be a cowboy hat, just by that applejack had a feeling about who it was, and it sent waves of fear down her spine.

"Appleshine, is that you, no it can't be" she said with wide eyes, both of them filled with fear, just then the figure began to chuckle, "well, I'm surprised you even remember me, and you've grown so much in the last few years, you've gone through some dramatic changes in your life haven't you?" he said as he took the straw out of his mouth.

Deciding to try and keep cool, she answered his question, "yeah, I guess you could say that I have had my fair share of adventures, something we both wanted to do when we were young" she said as he laughed, as he got up and began hoping down from the rafters, by the boxes that were stacked high enough.

As soon as he landed on the ground, he walked into the light, revealing his face, applejack's eyes widened in fear, but strangely in happiness, it truly was him, Appleshine, her long lost older brother.

"Appleshine, it really is you" she said in a conflicted tone, half happy, half fearful, he just smiled and walked up to her, "yes it is me, it's been a long time AJ, you've grown so much, since I last saw you" he said, Applejack was too stunned to say anything, her body acted for her, she suddenly ran forward and threw her hooves around his neck, in a warming hug, temporarily stunned, he wrapped his hooves around her as well.

Tears fell from Applejack's eyes, "it's been too long, and we all thought you were dead, I'm so happy to see you" she said crying, he just held her, and sighed, "unfortunately, things can't be the same, I still remember what you did too me, that night" he said, and Applejack's eyes shot open, she turned her head and looked at him, instead of what she was expecting, she saw the faintest hint of hate in his eyes.

"No shine, you can let it go, we can be a family again, please" she said, he just stared at her, and then her took her hooves from around his neck and pushed her away, he looked her right in the eyes, "a family?, it's been a long time since we were a family, but after what you did, never" he said as he began walking away, but was stopped by Applejack.

"We searched for you, we never stopped, we searched for months, they wanted to give up, but I wouldn't let them, we wanted you home, I never meant for it to happen, I did my best to save them, it wasn't my fault-" she aid but was cut off by Appleshine, running right up to her, his face inches from hers, and enraged look on his face.

"Don't you dare even speak their names, you're the reason they died in the first place, you took them away from me, left them to die, so you could save yourself, I promised I make you feel the same pain I did that night, and that's what I intended to do, and it look's I choose the right time, you have a family of your own now, how would it feel if they were suddenly taken away from you?" he asked, as he walked forward, causing Applejack to back up until, she hit the door.

When he mentioned her family, she grew angry, "if you eve touch them, I will-" she said but was cut off by Shine brining out a knife and putting it under her chin, making her close her mouth, "you'll do what, you won't be able to stop me, you'll pay for the pain you caused me, with your own, years I spent planning, thinking of how to make you suffer, it's a shame you won't be able to tell them, for all you know this could be a dream, or you hallucinating, you never can tell" he said with a slight chuckle, as he slowly drew the knife away.

Applejack looked at him, with fear, but also anger, "if you want your revenge, why not just kill me now, what are you waiting for?" she said, he looked back at her, "I could you know, kill you right here, on the very same ranch where we grew up together, but even after all you've done, your still my little sister, you are still family, you can try to warn them, but you won't if you can't believe it yourself, like I said this could all be a figment of your imagination" he said, and just as he did, Applejack heard Dark Star call her name, she quickly tried to look out the window, and then turned back, only to see nothing, no sign of anypony in the building but herself.

She had trouble believing it, she rubbed her eyes, and looked around the room, but saw no trace of him anywhere.

Soon, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked, and opening, Dark Star and Solar Glaze ran in, "hey AJ, are you alright, Solar Glaze did you lock your mom in the barn again" he said looking down at his son, Solar just groaned, "come on dad, that was one time and it was an accident" he said as they all started walking out of the barn, Applejack following.

As they approached the house, Applejack turned back to the barn, still trying to make sense of what happened, was she really seeing things, was it her imagination, or did her brother really come back to take his revenge, the very thought of losing her family, sent her mind into a more depressed state, she turned and looked at the nearby apple tree's.

She scanned the tree's, making sure that they weren't being watched, she just hoped she was wrong, she shook off her feeling and followed them inside, hoping she could get her mind off of it, with a little partying with Pinkie and her friends.

**A/N: well, that was very interesting, if there is any confusion, all will be explained in the next chapter, hope you enjoyed, peace out.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: here's the next chapter, all will be explained, enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 3: party at pinkies**

After the incident in the barn, Applejack did her best to forget about, after they went inside, she went to get ready.

Only a few minutes later, she was ready and it was time for them to go to Pinkie's party, no matter the situation, Pinkie's parties always had a way to cheer them up, and that is exactly how she felt.

After they had all arrived, Pinkie started her party, playing music, and enjoying games, she had food and drinks, everypony was having a good time, Applejack managed to put aside her worries, and enjoy the time with her friends, Dark Star had gone over to talk with Flame and their friends.

Night Gale and Star Dust had returned, to enjoy some of their break at their hometown, it had been awhile since they had been home, they were both on their summer break, when they return, Night Gale would be in his final year, and Star Dust her second.

Much to their surprise, Spike had returned from business in Canterlot, it had been awhile since they saw Spike, he had grown a lot, his arms and legs were longer, and his voice deeper, but the one thing that was the same was that he still had a major crush on Rarity, much to their amusement.

They were all having a good time, Twilight and all her friends, spent the time catching up, all of them having busy lives now, they only ever got together, once a month at least, so they took advantage of their time.

Spike still was not one to party, and left to return to the library, since Twilight insisted that he stay with them, he was more than happy to accept, it was now late into the night, but to Pinkie, it was never too late for partying.

Dark Star and Applejack, were talking with Flame and Twilight and their family, Solar Glaze was over with their friends playing games, "so how have things been with you too, still not tired of working on a farm, Dark Star?" Flame said as he took a sip of his drink, Dark Star just laughed, "well, it's hard but I get by, and I owe it all to this mare right here" he said pulling Applejack close and giving her a kiss on the cheek, she just giggled and lightly pushed him away.

"Please, he's always complaining, about getting up early, I can hardly take it" she said with a laugh, with the others joining in, they continued to talk for a while, talking about how work has been, laughing and telling jokes, and overall just having a blast.

But then, the night took a turn for the worst.

As they continued to party, they were interrupted, by the door swinging in roughly, they all turned and saw Spike, with a fearful look on his face, leaving them all shocked.

Twilight walked up, "Spike, is everything okay, what happened?" she asked, Spike ran in, with a panicked look on his face, "sorry Twi, I tried to stop them, but they were too many of them, so I ran" he said in a low voice, Flame stepped forward, "whoa, calm down, what's going on, take it nice and slow" he said, Spike looked up at him, "in the library, a group of ponies, were wrecking the place, throwing books all over, I knew I couldn't stop them, so I ran back here" he said, hearing the news, all of them had shocked expressions, but none more so than Twilight and Flame, as well as their foals, Dark Star turned back to Applejack, and saw the same expression she had on earlier, a fearful look, one he had not seen before.

Just as she did, Twilight levitated Spike on her back and ran out the door, in the direction of the library, "Twilight, wait!" Flame said as he ran out after her, soon all their friends were running out of the room.

(Later…)

After running thought the streets, they finally made it to the library, they all stopped, Twilight and Flame saw that the front door was open, they looked at each other worriedly, and walked forward slowly, ready in case somepony tried to attack, unaware to the others, Applejack had a pretty good idea, who was behind it, she just hoped she was wrong.

As they came up, Flame walked forward, and slowly reached his hoof up, and pushed the door open lightly, and began walking in, soon they all walked in, the sight before them, shocked them beyond belief, especially Twilight and Flame, and their foals.

Indeed, Spike was right, the place was wrecked, books lay everywhere, shelves knocked to the floor, family pictures lay on the ground, broken, pieces of glass everywhere, forcing them to watch where they stepped, Twilight was on the verge of tears, as she walked up to a table that much of their family pictures were put.

Pictures of her and Flame on their wedding day, pictures of them before Night Gale was born, everything of them with Shining Armor, all the way to their most recent family picture of all of them, most of them lay faced down, cracked, some pictures were out of their portraits.

Twilight kneeled down and picked up on of them, she let a tear fall from her eyes, she held the picture close to her chest, Flame sighed sadly and walked over to her, he put a hoof on her shoulder, as he did, Twilight spoke up.

"who could have done something like this, there's nothing left" she said as Flame pulled her into a comforting hug, as they did the others began looking around, until they heard the silent weeping of another, they all turned and saw Applejack sitting down, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Applejack what's wrong?" Dark Star asked as he walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, she looked up at him in tears, Applejack looked over at Flame and Twilight, and then looked down, "oh Twilight, ah am so sorry, this is all my fault" she said, they all looked at each other with confused looks on their faces, Twilight and Flame stood up and walked over to her.

"what are you talking about, this isn't your fault" Flame said, she looked up at them once again, "yes it is, ah…ah know who did this" she said, now they were all really confused, "what do you mean, who did it, come on Applejack tell us" Twilight said with the slightest hint of anger in her voice.

Applejack turned to all of them, tears still falling from her eyes, "my older brother did this" she said with sadness in her voice, that comment gave them all confused looks, "darling, I don't think Big Mac did this, why would he?" Rarity asked, but Applejack just shook her head, "no, not Big Mac, there's something I've kept hidden from all of you for the longest time now, this is the work of my oldest brother, Appleshine" she said and all the others looked at each other with worried and shocked looks.

But it was only going to get worse.

**A/N: ooh, I love cliffhangers, don't you, anyway, hope you enjoyed, next chapter is when it really gets interesting, tune in next time to hear the story of applejack's long list brother.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: alright, here is the next chapter, this is where things get really interesting, hope you enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 4: the truth revealed**

After they all heard what Applejack said, they were all thrown in a surprised state, especially Dark Star who had his hoof on her shoulder, they all looked at each other with worried and shocked expressions.

After being silent for so long, Flame decided to speak up, "what are you talking about Applejack, you never told us about another brother you had, why tell us now, and what makes you think he's behind this?" he said with the ever so slightest hint of anger in his voice, Applejack just looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"ah didn't want to believe it, but now ah know, were all in danger" she said, catching them all of guard, but now it was Twilight's turn to speak up, "why didn't you tell us about this before, if it is your brother, why is he trying to hurt us, were your friends Applejack, why would you keep secrets from us?" she asked walking up to her.

Applejack only continued to weep silently, but this only made Twilight angrier, but none could blame her, her home had just been destroyed, her family was being threatened, and she wanted to know by whom.

"Applejack, tell us, in the entire time we've known each other, you never mentioned him before, tell us why?" Twilight demanded, suddenly Applejack stood up on all fours, and faced her, tears still in her eyes, "because…we all thought he was dead, for a long time now" she said and Twilight's angry look disappeared, and was replaced by a shocked look.

After they all had silenced, Applejack spoke up again, "this is my fault, he wants me to pay, for something ah did to him in the past, over the years we all began to forget about it, but now he's back, and he's after all of you, not just me" she said as she began to cry again, they all just watched her.

This time Flame stepped forward once again, "if he's your brother, why is he after us, what happened the last time you saw him, that would make him hate you so much, he's your brother, why would he want to hurt you and your friends" he asked in a calm tone.

Applejack turned to look at all of them, a saddened look on her face, "it's a long story, but you all deserve to know" she said as she sat down, they all just got into a relaxed position, so she could tell her story.

"It happened a long time ago, a few years before Twilight even came to PonyVille in the first place" she started by saying, Twilight's eyes opened in surprise, "on the farm, it was Applebloom, the youngest, then myself, then Big Mac, and then finally our older brother, Appleshine, he was in charge of the farm at the time as well as Granny Smith" she said, the others all listened intently.

"Appleshine was once a good stallion, so hardworking, confident and brave, we all looked up to him, he never let us down, but the time came when he grew old enough, he moved away, and started his own ranch, on the outskirts of Fillydelphia, he set up his own ranch and it was very successful, eventually he got married to and beautiful young mare, and soon they had a son together, they were a happy family, and every so often we would go out to see them, we were always welcome in his home, but one time, that is when tragedy struck" she said, by now all of them were so involved, they were anxious to hear what happened next.

Applejack looked up at them, with a sad expression, but she knew that they should know, so she continued, even if it hurt her saying it.

"one of our visits, began like any other, he would tell us his stories about running his own business, and how complicated it was, just like any other day, we all went to sleep that night, but that is when it all changed" she said in a depressed tone.

"We don't know how it happened, or where it began, but somehow a small fire sparked somewhere in the house, and soon the whole place was burning, we were all quickly evacuated, but for some reason Shine's family wasn't with him, they heard a familiar scream come from the house, Shine recognized them as his wife, but he was too injured to go, so I volunteered, ah wasn't as strong as ah was now, but I wouldn't let that stop me" she said, pausing to take a breath.

"too make a long story short, ah found them, and led them out, we ran along to top floor, as we approached the stairs, the hallway collapsed, and they both fell through, ah tried my hardest to pull them up, but ah wasn't strong enough, she told me it was alright, to let them go and save myself, but ah didn't want to, ah felt my grip weakening, they told me to deliver one last message to Shine, she saw the conflict ah had, and decided for me, and let go, both of them falling into the fire of the level below" she said as she began crying again, Dark Star walked up and comforted her.

"even now, ah can still here their screams, ah wanted to go down to save them, but the path was blocked and the house was coming down, ah had no choice but to leave, it pained me so much, and ah knew ah would have to live with my choice forever, and not a single day goes by where ah don't regret my decision" she said looking up at all the others, as if she were done.

Flame decided to speak up, "but that doesn't explain why he hate's you so much, enough to want you to pay?" he said, Applejack looked up at him, "If somepony murdered your family, wouldn't you want them to pay" she said, they were all shocked at her statement, Flame turned to Twilight and his foals, and held them close.

Applejack looked back down in grief and regret, but she continued the story none the less, "eventually ah found my way out, and was taken to an ambulance, but it was up to me to tell Shine about what happened, that was probably the greatest mistake of my life" she said taking a deep shaky breath.

"After ah told him, to say he was heartbroken would be an understatement, he actually tried running back to the house to get them out, but by that time to building was collapsing, he just watched as his home burned to the ground, ah tried to comfort him by telling what they said, but that was where the pain began" she said looking up again at her friends.

"he claimed that ah left them to die, that ah purposely let them fall only to save myself, you have no idea what it's like being called a murder by your own brother, he promised that one day he would make me pay for the pain ah had so deeply caused him, and he ran off into the orchard, we searched for him for months, but after long enough, the rest gave up, but ah was still hoping for the day that he might return, but ah never thought he would have kept all that hate in him for so long, and now he finally has come back, to take his revenge on me" she said almost on the verge of tears once again.

They all looked at each other with sad and surprised expressions, one of them was about to speak up, but was interrupted by a bone chilling laugh coming from behind Applejack, they all looked behind her and saw a hooded pony standing in the doorway, and sick smile on his face.

"Oh, don't you just love hearing that story, about a sibling betraying a sibling, oh but there's more to it than that" he said as his smile grew wider.

**A/N: ooh, another cliffhanger, man these things are everywhere, well tune in next time to find out what happens.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I decided to write another chapter fort his story, like I said, I'm going back and forth between them, so there might be an update for another story later, well either way, enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 5: first encounter**

As they all turned, the hooded pony just smiled at them, a fearful look appeared on Applejack's face, and Dark Star stepped in front of her, Flame and the others stepped forward, taking defensive positions, the hooded pony just laughed, "I guess I should thank you, I thought I would have to hunt down all of AJ's friends one by one, by now here you all are, this makes my job much easier" he said with a smile, Night Gale tried taking a step forward, but was stopped by Flame putting his hoof on his chest, and pushing him back slightly.

Flame frowned as he took a step forward, "so…you're the one, Applejack's long lost older brother, I can see the family resemblance" he said, the other pony, reached up and took his hood down, revealing his face, Applejack began cowering behind her husband.

Shine just chuckled, "and you must be Flame, the greatest hero Equestria has ever known, who has defeated numerous enemies, and saved the kingdom, on multiple occasions" he said in a mocking tone, Flame just frowned, but a faint smile appeared on his face.

"what can I say, I'm just a guy who likes to get out, got to keep fit if you know what I mean" he said, Shine smiled back, "your history might impress others, but me, I think your pathetic, giving up a life, where you could rule side by side with your former master, that's a fools choice" he said as his smile disappeared, and so did Flame's.

They stood like that just staring each other down, "you know something, I don't take to kindly to ponies who threaten my friends, or my family, especially when that ponies is holding such a petty grudge as that, if anypony here is pathetic, it's you" Flame said, an angry look appeared on Apple Shine's face, "pathetic? You weren't there that night; you've only heard one side of the story" he said, Flame looked back at Applejack, and then back at Shine.

"I only need to hear her side, the way I grew up, I know when somepony is lying, when your younger sister was telling story, every word she said was true" Flame said, stilling staring him down.

Shine just chuckled, "you really think you can trust her, you see, she may be your friend, but she is my sister, I can see right through her, and she was lying, right through her teeth, which is impressive, considering, she's the element of honesty and all" he said with a chuckle, Flame just continued watching him.

"I've met ponies like you before, just like you, keeping all that hate inside, until it consumes them, until they are just a shadow of their former selves, it's sad really, that you keep such a pathetic grudge for so long" he said as shine frowned.

"She murdered my family! I'm just seeking justice" he said, growing angrier, "but on your own sister, your own flesh and blood, there's no justice in killing your own family, how would your wife and son, feel if they saw you now" he said, Shine was now very angry, "don't you dare pretend to know how they feel! I have come too far, waiting for so long, I could have killed her anytime, but I waited for the right time, so she could feel my pain, but now…you think you know my pain, I can help you with that" he said as he pulled his cloak aside, revealing a holstered weapon, he took it out and pointed it straight at Flame, everypony in the room, tensed up.

Flame's eyes opened in surprise, but they returned to his previous expression, Shine just chuckled, "tell me something Flame, how would your wife feel, if she lost you, right here right now, how would your son, or your daughter feel, you think you know my pain, then I'll let them feel it" he said, Flame just stared at him.

"you do that, you'll be making a big mistake" Flame said, Shine just laughed, "oh, you are brave I'll give you that, defiant, even before death, I like that about you Flame, but sadly, I said I would kill each and everypony Applejack, holds close to her heart, so I guess I will start with you" he said, focusing the pistol, to hit Flame directly in his chest, Flame's expression didn't change, if you looked at Twilight, you could see the sheer terror in her eyes, and yet the surprise that her husband was being so brave, she focused back to the situation now.

Night Gale and Star Dust, could feel their hearts pounding against their chests, they watched as their own father, faced down an insane pony pointing a gun at him, and not even flinching, shine just laughed again, "I like your style Flame, but it's time to say goodbye, nice knowing you" he said as he steadied the pistol, Flame just stared him down, Shine smiled as he pulled the trigger, and the room was filled with a loud bang.

They all watched as the bullet hit Flame square in the chest, sending him back a few feet, his eyes shot open, "FLAME!" Twilight screamed out, as he fell to the floor, grabbing at his wound, Twilight caught him, and held him up, shocked looks appeared on all their faces, after Flame landed on the floor, they all looked up to see Shine smiling.

Just as he started loading another bullet, Twilight looked down at him, and much to her shock and disbelief, her husband was looking up at her, with a smile, she watched as he winked, Twilight and all the other looked up at Shine, seeing a familiar figure standing behind him.

Shine loaded the pistol, and brought it up again, only to see them all staring behind him, much to his confusion, suddenly he felt a pony tapping on his shoulder; he turned around only to come face to face, with the pony he thought he just killed.

"you just made a big mistake" Flame said, Shine was to confused to talk, Flame took an advantage, and brought his hoof round, delivering a very hard punch to Shine's cheek, the blow landed and sent Shine a few feet back, the blow stunned him, and he found it hard to see, Flame turned around and kicked him in the chest, sending him straight into the bookshelf, Shine it the shelf hard and the blow, knocked him out, he fell to the floor, and did not move.

"Like I said, I don't like it when somepony threatens me, my friends, or my family" he said as he turned to the others, only to be tackled by Twilight and his two foals, "Flame you're okay!" Twilight cried out, Flame chuckled and pushed himself up, "I was never in danger" he said with a smile, Twilight and the others turned around, and saw no sign of another injured pony, Twilight turned back to him, and saw the smile on his face.

"Flame, did you…use that spell" she said with a smile, he smiled back at her, "aren't you glad I did" he said, as they hugged each other, but Dark Star didn't understand him, "wait, what spell?" he asked, Flame turned to him, "it was a decoy spell, creates a perfect clone of you, I put the decoy in my place, and snuck up behind him, it's a unicorn thing" he said with a smile.

They all turned to the unconscious pony in front of them, "is he…" Applejack said sadly as she walked up, Flame stopped her, he slowly approached him, ready for any surprise attack, but when he looked at his face, he saw he was really out cold, he put his hoof on his neck, and sighed, "he's alive, just unconscious, we need to get out of here, let's go to Canterlot, and warn the princess" Flame said, but was stopped by Applejack.

"wait, we have to get my family, I can't leave without warning Big Mac and Applebloom" she said with a determined look on her face, Flame sighed and nodded, "alright, we'll meet up at Applejack's house, everypony get some supplies, meet there in an hour, you see him or any of his friends, you run or fly as fast as you can, alright lets go" he said as they all ran out the door, leaving the unconscious pony behind.

**A/N: well, I got to say, that was intense, hope you all enjoyed, peace.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: hey guys, I decided to upload another chapter for this story, sit back, read and enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 6: return to the farm**

After they fled the library, they all split up, and returned to their houses, after they gathered their own supplies, they all met back up at the ranch, where Applejack was forced to tell Big Mac and Applebloom, what happened, Big Mac was shocked, but Applebloom was only confused, but she could understand her older sister's fear.

Not long after they got there, they began making plans on what to do next, luckily none of them had run into trouble.

Right now, they were all resting, and planning out there next move, they agreed not to go off alone, especially outside, knowing that shine could be out there.

Twilight and Flame were in the living room, sitting on the couch, even though he was almost killed, Flame was in a better mood, than they thought he would be, Applejack took it upon herself to apologize.

They stopped talking as Applejack walked up to them, with regret on her face, "Flame, Twilight, I'm sorry, this is all my fault" she said tearing up, Flame and Twilight were confused, "how in anyway is this your fault?" Twilight said, Applejack looked up at them, "your home has been destroyed because of me, Flame was nearly killed, ah should have told ya'll the truth earlier, maybe this could have been avoided" she said, looking down in shame.

"AJ…" Flame said as he hoped off the couch, "this is not your fault, we've rebuilt the library before, we can do it again, and if there's anything I've faced more in my life, it's that somepony threating to kill me, truthfully its nothing new, by now I think I'm used to it" he said with a light chuckle, but Applejack still felt that this misery was her fault.

Just as they did, the others walked in, "so what do we do now?" Dash asked hovering in the air, Flame put a hoof to his chin, and then smiled, "well, we really only have one option, we leave for Canterlot, Shining Armor and Comet can help us, I don't think your brother would be foolish enough to face both the royal guards and the E.S.S., it would not end well for him" he said with a smile, but some of them thought different.

"That's a great plan, but how do get to the train station, he's probably out there watching us, right now" Dash said again, in an annoyed tone.

Flame sighed and headed for the door, but was stopped by Twilight, "Flame, what are you doing?" she asked, Flame smiled and grabbed her hoof, "it's okay, I'm going to take a look outside, I'll be right back, I promise, and if I run into any trouble, I have this" he said levitating the very same pistol that Shine was using, in front of him, they were all shocked.

"snatched it from him, after he was knocked out, I'll be fine" he said as he opened the door, they all gathered behind him, he took a few steps outside, it was now night time, and the moon was high in the sky, and there was a slight wind in the air, causing the leaves in the trees to sway, and his mane to move.

He took a look behind him, and saw his family's worried looks, he turned back and looked around, he scanned the tree line, and something caught his eye, from where he was standing, he thought he saw multiple forms moving in the trees, they looked like ponies watching him.

His eyes widened, as he looked in all directions, making sure there weren't any others, he slowly turned around and headed back into the house, they all closed the doors behind him, Twilight walked up to him and hugged him, even though he didn't think it was necessary, he returned it.

"Did you see anything out there?" Dark Star asked walking up to applejack, Flame turned to them, "well I think that Dash is right, he's out there, but I think as long as we are in here, we are safe…" he said, only a few seconds after, all the lights in the house shut off, leaving them all in darkness.

"…or I could be wrong" Flame said in the darkness, soon after, they heard glass breaking, and knives unsheathing, Applejack tried to find where she was, but was lost in the dark, soon she heard the sound of cries in pain, she heard her son cry out in pain, soon it all stopped.

"Dark Star, Solar Glaze, girls, where are you?" she asked, as soon as she did, the lights turned on again, she closed her eyes due to the sudden brightness, but her eyes slowly adjusted, and she found herself standing in the middle of their living room, she looked up and saw all her friends standing around her, but to her horror, she saw unknown masked ponies, standing behind each of them, knives placed around their necks.

Soon, Applejack heard a familiar laugh, and the sound of approaching hooves, she turned and saw none other than Appleshine, walking towards her, with a smile on his face.

The fearful look appeared in her eyes once again, she turned and saw her husband, struggling to break free, but the pony behind him just tightened the knife around his neck, she turned to Shine as he approached her, the smile no longer there.

"No more games little sister, no they die, and you get to watch" he said with a sadistic look on his face, all Applejack could do what look on in horror.

**A/N: well, I hate cliffhangers; but fear not the next chapter will be posted up soon, for now, peace out.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: well, I was really bored, so here's another chapter, enjoy**

**Family is Forever: chapter 7: on the run**

Applejack could only look on in horror, as Shine smiled, he started laughing, "I got to hand it to you Flame, your better than I thought, maybe I underestimated you, but I promise, you I won't make that same mistake, twice" he said as he looked around the room, he stopped when he rested his eyes on Solar Glaze, who was struggling against his captor, but to no avail, Shine smiled and began walking over towards him, making the young colt shake in fear.

Shine walked up to him, and got down to eye level, and stared into his eyes, Solar tried to be brave, but his body betrayed him, Shine simply smiled, "so, you must be Applejack's son, I guess that makes me your uncle" he said, Solar just shook in fear, only making Shine laugh.

"So tell me Solar Glaze, what like being the son of a murder, what's it like being the son…of a whore" he said many of the ponies gasped in surprise, except Dark Star who was fueled by anger.

"Don't you ever call her that again, or I will kill you, you bastard!" he shouted, Shine just got up on all fours, turned and walking in front of him, and looked him up and down, and chuckled to himself, "I don't think you're in a position to be making threats…Dark Star right, well since your married to my sister, I guess that makes us, brothers" he said with a smile.

Dark Star, just stared him in the eyes, and spit in his face, Shine stepped back, and wiped it off his face, "I would never call you a brother of mine, you're a monster" he said, Shine walked up to him, and gave him a very hard punch to the stomach, enough to knock the wind out of him, Applejack gasped as he fell to the floor, clutching his stomach, only to be hauled on to his hooves, and having the knife returned around his neck.

Shine turned and walked back in front of Applejack, and faced her, "I hope you spent the last few hours, saying goodbye to your friends and family, if not, then that's too bad, because you're about to watch them die, right here, right now, I'll have their throats slit, so you can watch them bleed at your hooves, then you will know the pain I felt" he said, Applejack was in tears, they flew from her eyes like a waterfall.

"Please Shine, don't do this, I'm begging you, leave them alone, kill me instead!" she shouted, but he just smiled, Applejack just fell to the ground, crying out.

By now, Flame had seen enough, he looked over to his side, at Dark Star, and nodded his head, who nodded his in return, he then turned to his family, and gave them a certain look, and one only they could understand.

They nodded, and closed their eyes, Flame sighed heavily, and closed his eyes, he focused his magic to his horn, and suddenly the room was filled with a blinding white light, after he did, they all opened their eyes, and saw the ponies that were holding them, now on the floor covering their eyes, Flame broke free, and bucked the pony behind him in the chest, sending straight into the wall.

Soon, all the others did the same, Flame turned and saw Shine about to attack his family, he focused his magic to his horn, and shot a powerful blast of magic at him, it collided and he flew straight across the room.

"Alright, everypony run!" Flame shouted and all their friends ran out the door, he stayed and shot more blasts of magic at the attackers, "Flame get out of here!" Dark Star shouted, Flame nodded and ran out after the others, while Dark Star punched another one in the face, Applejack called out to him.

"Dark Star, what are you doing, come on!" she shouted, but he turned to her, "no, you go, we'll all hold them off, go to Canterlot with the others, we'll meet you there later" he said, Applejack looked at him with worry, but she understood and ran out after the others.

Dark Star turned and saw Shine staring at him, Dark Star's anger returned, and he charged out wildly, Shine just watched, and when he was in range, he turned and bucked him in the chest, with unusual strength, he hit the wall with bone shattering force, and fell to the ground, he looked up, and saw Shine standing over him, pointing a pistol at him, and a smile on his face, "wrong move, my friend" he said, with a sick smile.

(PonyVille, train station)

After they all made a run for it, they decided to go with their original plan, and headed for the train station, before they got there, they stopped to catch their breath, so they wouldn't cause any suspicion.

Before they continued, Flame looked around for some of their friends, "wait, where's Dark Star and the others?" he asked, Applejack looked up at him, "they stayed behind, they'll join us in Canterlot later, they said to go on" she said, at first Flame didn't like the idea, but he knew what Dark Star meant, and went with it.

After they had all calmed down, they calmly walked up to the ticket booth, "may I help you, sir?" the pony behind the desk asked, and Flame walked up and took a deep breath, "yes, I would like ten tickets for your next train to Canterlot, please" he said, and the pony gave him to amount of money, and Flame reached into his bag, and gave him the appropriate amount, "you're in luck, the train is just arriving, have a nice trip" the pony said and they all walked away.

Only having to wait a few minutes, the train arrived, and they boarded, but still keeping an eye out, for any of Appleshine's friends were following them, luckily they did not see any.

After they boarded, they took their seats, and tried to stay calm, "what's the plan then Flame?" Dash asked, Flame turned and looked at all of them, and took a seat next to his wife and his two foals, "when we get to Canterlot, we need to find Shining Armor and Comet, we need their help, but for now, let's all get some sleep, were going to need it, it's an hour ride to Canterlot" he said, as they all closed their eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

But what they didn't know was that, this was only the beginning of their problems.

**A/N: well there you have it, come back next time to see what happens, as we draw closer to the end, peace out.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: well, I got bored, so I decided to write another chapter, read and enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 8: seeking help**

After the train left the train station, they all shut their eyes, and got some sleep, giving the situation they were in, they all had deserved it, especially Applejack.

Soon after the other's, Flame went to sleep as well, to him it only seemed like a few minutes, because next thing he knew, he was awoken by the train engine screaming, and the brakes screech, he lifted his head up, which was rested against Twilight's and looked outside the window, and saw the familiar Canterlot train station.

He groaned as he sat up, and got on his hooves, "all right everypony, were here, time to get up" he said, and all the others opened their eyes, "uh, I felt like I slept for a few minutes, that was fast" Night Gale said, as he got up, they all got on their hooves.

They slowly mad their way off the train, and on to the platform, they looked around, "so, do we get a cab, or what?" Star Dust said, looking up and down the street.

"I think it would be safest, if we walk, it's only a couple of blocks, we'll be fine, let's go" Flame said as he started down the street, the others soon following him.

(Canterlot, residential district)

Just as they thought, they soon found themselves in the residential district of the city; Shining Armor's home was in the upper part of the district, closer to the castle, since he is the captain of the guard.

After walking a couple of more blocks, they found themselves in the upper district of the city, and before they knew it, they stood in front of their destination.

Flame looked at Twilight, and began walking up the steps, it was still deep in the night, and they knew it was unlikely that they were up, but they had no choice.

Flame reached the top of the small stairs, leading up to the front door, he looked at the others, and faced forward, he sighed and reached up his hoof and knocked on the door, they waited for a few minutes, when the door opened, and they saw a pony in a well-designed butler outfit, standing in the doorway.

The butler looked down at them, and was shocked to see the captain's family standing outside, "good evening sir, sorry to disturb you, but is Captain Shining Armor home?" Flame asked, the butler smiled, "master Flame, it's good to see you, yes he is, please do come in, he's in his study with his wife" he said as he led them inside, closing the door behind them.

He led them to the foyer, and turned to them, "please, wait here, I shall go get them, make yourselves at home" he said as he calmly walked down the hall, Flame and all the others, gladly placed their bags on the ground.

(Captain's house, private study)

Shining Armor, and his wife, Princess Cadence, lay on the ground, in front of a blazing fire, both of them wrapped in a blanket.

An open bottle of wine, and two fancy glasses in front of them, "came for another glass, my dear" Shining Armor said with a smile as he levitated the bottle, to his wife's cup and poured some inside, she smiled at him, and levitated the glass to her lips and took a sip, and placed it in front of her.

"Hmm, this really is nice, where did you get this, it's delicious" she said, Shining just chuckled, "being captain, has it's perks" he said pouring himself another glass, she smiled at him, and rested her head against his chest.

"I love this, just us two, finally getting away from work, where we can spend some alone time" she said the last part very slowly, catching her husband's attention.

He looked down at her with a smile, "what are you getting at?" he asked, she lifted her head, and smiled at him, "what do you think, Melody's upstairs asleep, it's just us, here, alone" she said with a seductive smile, Shining smiled at her.

"I think I do, but I'm not complaining" he said with a wide smile, she smiled back and they leaned forward and connected their lips in a passionate kiss, both of them smiling, they continued like that, until they heard a knock on the door.

They stopped their kiss, and looked at the door, they groaned in disappointment, "Yes, come in" Shining Armor said, with annoyance.

The door opened and in walked on of their butler's, he had a calm expression on his face, he took a slight bow, "yes, what is it?" Shining said, as they both got up and turned to face him.

"My apologies for disturbing you sir, but we have some visitors" he said, Shining and Cadence looked at each other with confused looks.

"Who would be visiting at this hour?' he asked, the butler stood up and looked at him, "with all due respect captain, but…it's your sister and your brother-in-law" he said, a shocked look appeared on his face, and he turned to his wife, who shared his shock.

They both put on their robes and headed out the door, in a hurry.

When they came out into the main room, they saw that their butler was indeed correct, there in the room, stood none other than their friends and family, "Shining Armor!" Twilight said happily as she walked up and gave her brother a hug, still partially shocked, Shining Armor hugged back, Twilight let go and turned to Cadence and did the same.

"What are you guys doing here, this late?" he asked as Flame walked up, "what, you're not going to say hello" Flame said with a chuckle, despite the reason there were there, it was still nice to see their family, Flame and Shining Armor shook hooves, and he turned to Cadence and gave her a hug, "Uncle Shining Armor, Aunt Cadence!" Night Gale and Star Dust said happily, as they ran and gave them both a hug.

Shining Armor chuckled, and looked up at flame, "don't get me wrong, were more than happy to see you again, but you could have at least give us a heads up" he said, Flame frowned and looked at the others.

"yeah, about that, were not here just for a visit, we need your help, were in a bit of trouble" Flame said, Shining Armor frowned, "of course, let's go to the study" he said and they all made their way, to the study.

(Captains house, private study)

After they all gathered around, Flame had told the entire story, of what was happening, to say that Shining Armor and Cadence were shocked, was an understatement.

"so your telling me, that Applejack's long lost brother, has come back to seek his revenge on her, and now he's hunting you all down" Shining Armor said, as another butler came in with a tray of tea, Applejack was standing in the corner, looking out the window.

"Yeah that's pretty much it, Dark Star and the others, stayed behind to stall them, but we haven't heard anything from them yet" Flame said taking a sip of his tea.

Shining Armor looked at his wife and sighed, "well, you know we are always here to help, I'll get in touch with Comet tomorrow, and we can go to the Princess with this matter, until then, your all more than welcome to stay here for the night, there's plenty of rooms, we'll leave after breakfast tomorrow" he said with a stern look on his face, the others just looked at each other.

(PonyVille, Sweet Apple Acres barn)

Dark Star awoke to find himself sitting in the barn, he shook himself awake, and looked around, the barn was dimly lit, he looked around the room, until his eyes rested in front of him, he saw his son, tied to the post he didn't seem awake.

"Solar Glaze!" he said as he ran up to him, and checked him, Solar Glaze looked up, "dad, what's going on here, what is this?" he asked, but Dark Star did his best to comfort him, "don't worry it will be okay, just hold on" he said as he tried to untie him, but the knot was to tight, he would need a knife.

Just as he began looking around, the barn doors opened, and in walked four unknown ponies, they began walking up to them; Dark Star took a defensive position, in front of his son.

"You stay back!" he said, they just walked up to him, he tried throwing a punch, but they just grabbed it and punched him in the stomach, hard enough to knock him to the ground, after he fell, they grabbed him, and held him up.

After he shook off the blow, he heard a familiar laugh; he looked up and saw none other than Appleshine walking towards him, with a smile.

"You!" he said as he walked up to him, "where is she, what did you do with Applejack?" he said, trying to break free, but was held back tightly, Shine just walked up to him, "I was about to ask you the same question, tell me where she went, I know you know" he said getting up in his face, Dark Star just stared him down.

"you think I'm going to tell you, you're wasting your time" he said, Shine frowned, and took a step back, he raised his hoof up and smacked Dark Star across the face, almost causing him to fall to the ground again, he was lifted back up, and brought to eye level with Shine.

"I won't ask again" he said, Dark Star just stared into his eyes, hate evident all over, "you already have my answer" he said, Shine just sighed and turned around, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you leave me no choice" he said as he reached under his cloak, and pulled out a pistol, and aimed it right at Dark Star, at this point Solar Glaze was panicking "dad no!" he cried out, but Dark Star remained strong, for his son's sake.

Dark Star let out a small chuckle, "ha, you think that scares me, I've been interrogated before you know, and they have threatened my life, your no different" he said, Shine just raised the gun up, and brought it down on Dark Star's head, this time he did fall to the floor, a trickle of blood coming from the wound, "pick him up!" he told his soldiers, they did so, and Shine put a hoof under his chin, and lifted his face up, to look into his eyes.

"I'm giving you one last chance, tell me where she went, or I will shoot you, right here right now" he said, with a deadly serious look on his face, Dark Star just stared him down, "forget it" he said, Shine just growled and turned away, and took a deep breath, and much to Dark Star's surprise, he started laughing, he turned around to face him.

"alright then fine, I won't kill you, but tell me something, out of all the times you've been interrogated, have these interrogators ever done something like this!" he said as he pointed the pistol at Dark Star's back hoof and pulled the trigger, causing the same loud bang.

The bullet hit its target, Dark Star screamed in pure agony, as he fell to the floor, clutching his hoof, tears coming from his eyes, Shine walked over, and placed a hoof on the wound and pressed down, causing Dark Star to scream out, having forced to watch, Solar Glaze was in tears, watching his father feel so much pain.

Suddenly, Shine stopped, and turned and looked at Solar, with a sick smile.

He looked back at Dark Star, who was clutching his hoof, and back at Solar, and a sick smile appeared on his face, "maybe, you don't crack, when somepony's threatening you, but what about when they are threatening your family" he said as he loaded another shot, and walked up to Solar, who was struggling greatly.

Dark Star looked up, and saw Shine approaching his son, his eyes widened in fear, "no don't please!" he shouted as he tried crawling to him, but was stopped by the two soldiers behind him, Shine stood next to Solar with a smile, he rose the pistol up and placed it against Solar Glaze's head.

"I'll leave it up to you, tell me now, or I'll shoot your son, the choice is yours, his life is in your hooves, you have ten seconds, 10…9…8" he said, Dark Star looked between him and his son, "dad…" Solar tried saying but was cut off by Shine's counting, "7…6…5…" Dark Star was panicking now, in all honesty he didn't know what to do, finally he made his choice.

"4…3-"he was about to finish when Dark Star cried out, "okay, okay, you wind, I'll tell you, just let him go, please, he's just a colt, please I'm begging you, just let him go, and I'll tell you" Dark Star said with tears in his eyes.

Solar just looked at his father in fear, Shine smiled and removed the pistol from Solar Glaze's head and pointed it towards Dark Star.

"You were saying?" he said, as the guards pulled Dark Star to his hooves, as he cringed in pain, he looked up an sighed, "they…they went to Canterlot, Flame's wife, Twilight, her brother is captain of the royal guard, they have friends in high places, that's all I know, I swear" he said looking up, Shine smiled and lowered the pistol, and holstered it.

"Now, was that so hard, unchain the boy, we have plans to make" he said as he began walking out, the two guards unchained Solar Glaze, and they left, closing the door, behind them.

Solar Glaze got up, an ran to his father, "dad, your hurt…" he was saying but was stopped, "it's okay Solar Glaze, I'm fine, toss me that rag" he said pointing to the rag hanging on the wall, he ran over and brought it to his father, Dark Star put it in his mouth, and ripped, he threw one piece to the ground, and used the other half, and tied it around the bleeding wound, cringing as he tightened it.

"What do we do now, dad?" Solar asked, his dad looked at him, "I don't know, we wait, see if we can find a way to get word to Flame and the others, but for now we wait" he said, Solar just sighed and leaned back against the post.

Dark Star was right; all they could do was wait.

**A/N: well that was certainly an interesting chapter, hope you all enjoyed, see you guys next time.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: well I was bored, so I decided to write the next chapter for this story, hope you enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 9: visit to the castle**

After they had went to sleep for the night, luckily being the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor had a very large house, and plenty of spare rooms.

Most of them tried to sleep comfortably through the night, but Applejack could fall asleep, she tossed and turned in her bed, sleep evading her, she was unable to control, her fears clouded her mind, the thought of never seeing her son, her husband, her brother, her little sister, just the thought alone, sent waves of fear down her spine.

Eventually she convinced herself that they would save them, even if she had to do it alone, with that she managed to get some sleep, they were going to need it.

The next morning they all ate breakfast, and talked about what they were going to do for the day, Shining Armor told them he would get in touch with commander Comet after breakfast, but they did their best not to be in a hurry, but it wasn't enough.

After their breakfast they all got into separate carriages and taken to the castle, to meet with the princess.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Princess Celestia sat calmly on her throne, enjoying the day, but even she had no idea that things were about to change, suddenly the door flew open and I ran a royal guard, "my apologies for disturbing you your highness, but I bring urgent news from Captain Shining Armor" he said as he got up and took off his helmet, "yes what is it?" Celestia asked calmly, the guard stood up and cleared his throat.

"he said that Twilight Sparkle and Flame have come to Canterlot, they need help, they're on their way now, they told him that something has happened in PonyVille your help" he said in a rush, Celestia's eyes widened when she heard that there was trouble.

"Of course, find commander Comet and tell him to meet us here, when they arrive" she said, and the guards ran off, to find him.

(Canterlot castle, E.S.S. commander's office)

Comet sat at his desk, looking through papers, as part of the policy, each E.S.S. outposts, sent in records of the month's activities, and it was comet's job to search for any irregularities, but to his relief there were none.

His thoughts were interrupted, when there was a knocking on the door, "yes, come in" he said as he put the papers in a drawer of the desk, and put his hooves on the desk.

And with that the door opened and in walked a royal guard, much to his surprise, "sorry to disturb you sir, but there's been a problem, Princess Celestia asks that you join her immediately, Captain Shining Armor's family has arrived, they say there's been a problem in PonyVille" he said, that was all Comet needed to hear, and he quickly ran out the room, and made his way to the throne room.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

Just as planned, they arrived at the castle and met with the Princess's, and Comet soon joined them, they then began to tell their story to them, so they could all understand the situation, to say they were surprised was an understatement.

After they finished telling the Princess's the story, Celestia went into deep thought as she walked up to the window, "you know I will always be around to help you, in times of need, but this seems to be a different story, miss Applejack, if your family is being held hostage, then I will do what I can to help you, but if what you say is true, then it will be your own brother, you are fighting against" she said turning to her, Applejack just sighed and hung her head.

Flame stepped forward, "we need to make some sort of plan, who knows what will happen if we wait too long" he said, and the Princess nodded her head, "I could order my troops to surround the farm, he would have no choice to surrender" Comet said stepping forward, they all looked at him.

"no, if we do that, then he'll just kill the hostages, we want to do this without any casualties, that is too risky" Celestia said, as she began pacing back and forth, just the she stopped, and turned to Applejack, "Applejack, I promise you, we will find a way to rescue your family, and we will stop your brother, you have my word as princess" she said, but that didn't make her feel any better, "that's what ah am afraid of" she said quietly to herself, as they continued to think out a plan.

(PonyVille, Sweet Apple Acres barn)

It had been a day since Shine was there to insult and threaten them, they were given foo regularly, he needed them alive, but they did not know why, Dark Star sat leaning up against a pillar, while Solar Glaze paced back and forth, "uh, there has to be a way to get a word out, somehow" he said pacing, Dark Star just looked up at him, "son, were in the barn, there's no way to get word out, even if we did, Shine would be made aware of it" he said, but Solar Glaze was persistent, a personality he got from both his mom and dad.

Just then he smiled and turned to his dad, "dad, I found out a way to tell somepony what is going on" he said, Dark Star was surprised by his son's quick thinking, and waited for him to continue.

"Okay, remember that old communication radio we found, my friends and I from school used to play with it down in spare room under the barn, we used to mess around with it, did you and mom ever get rid of it?" he asked, Dark Star thought for a moment, and smiled.

"For the first time, I'm glad I never got rid of one of your annoying toys" he said and Solar Glaze ran to the center of the barn, and cleared the hay from the ground, revealing what seemed like a trap door, he opened it, revealing a small room, that he used to play in with his friends.

He jumped down and Dark Star did his best to walkover, and did so very slowly and painfully, and looked down, Solar Glaze saw a table filled with dust and a cloth draped around it, he walked up and pulled it off and the dust flew in his face making him cough and gag slightly.

Just as he thought, there it was, the old communication radio that he found a few years ago, it had gathered a lot of dust, and it looked like it would never work again, but lucky for him, he was taught how to fix things like that by his dad.

"Think you can get it working?" Dark Star asked from above, "yeah it should be easy, but it might take a few minutes" he said as he reached and turned it on, it being old, it gave out a low hum, compared to the technology now, he began turning knobs, and trying to find the right channel, his target was trying to get the nearest, E.S.S. outpost, or somepony who could help, but luckily he got what he was looking for.

(Canterlot castle, Royal Guard headquarters)

As they usually would do, all the royal guards took control of the room, while the captain was at his meeting with the princess.

They kept control over all the incoming radio transmissions, even for older radios, as they were going about their business, one of the guards began to notice something odd about an incoming transmission.

"Um sir, we seem to be intercepting an urgent message from an older radio model, one that's not used anymore" he said and the lieutenant walked up to him, "I thought the older model's couldn't transmit and signal's anymore?" he asked and the soldier pressed a few keys, "it's not very strong, but it seems to be coming from…PonyVille" he said, as he looked for the source.

"It seems to be an audio transmission" he said as he put the headset on, and began to listen, by enhancing the quality of the voice, as he began to listen, his eyes widened and he turned to the lieutenant, "sir, you might want to hear this" he said in a shocked tone of voice.

(Canterlot castle, throne room)

At this point, they were all arguing, back in forth, some were trying to convince the others that the only way to stop them was to use military force, but the other side did not want any casualties, and Applejack was forced to listen to all of it, Celestia and Luna decided to take control of the argument.

"Alright! We all have thought of various ways to rescue Applejack's family and stop her brother, but we need to agree, or we are just sitting here wasting time" she said and Luna was about to speak up, but was stopped when the throne rooms doors flew open, and three guards ran in, out of breath.

"Guards, I thought I said this was a private meeting, and that we were not to be disturbed" she said upset, but what he said next surprised them all, "my apologies your highness, but we've received a urgent radio transmission from PonyVille…it's for her" he said gesturing to Applejack, who had a surprised look on her face, like all the other in the room.

She didn't say anything, she just ran out of the room, the others quickly followed suit, the guards lead them to the control room, which was more active than usual, they all walked to the center and saw a pony sitting down at the main console, with a headset on, arguing into the headset, when he saw them approaching, he took it off.

"Sorry to disturb your meeting, but we have a really annoyed young colt on the other end, we can't get him to calm down, whatever it is, he's panicking, he asked for you by name" he said looking at Applejack, she felt a burst of happiness in her heart, as she knew who it was, "very well, put it on the speaker" Celestia said the guard turned back to the console, and began pressing buttons, until they heard a voice come out from console speaker.

"_-hello, are you guys still there, is anypony there, we need help, I repeat my dad and I need help, were being kept in the sweet apple acres barn, my father's hurt, is anypony there, please answer me!"_ he yelled, Applejack instantly recognized who it was, as well as the others, she felt tears fall from her eyes, as she walked up to the microphone.

"Solar, is that you?" she asked, there was a quick silence on the other end, _"Mom? Mom are you there it's me!" _he said out of the speaker, "oh thank heavens you're alright, are you okay, what about your father, come on talk to me" she said into the device, _"I'm fine, but dad's hurt, were being kept in the barn, there's no way out, Shine's soldiers are surrounding the place, there's no way we can get out"_ he said, Applejack sighed sadly, and looked back at the others, and then turned back to the microphone.

"Alright, Solar, just listen to me; you're going to be fine, just hang in there" she said, but got no answer, she waited for a minute, but then a noise came on the speaker, it sounded like screaming, screams of pain, then the line went dead for a minute.

"Solar, Solar are yah there, come on sugarcube talk to me" she said but didn't get the answer she expected, as a deeper voice came over the speaker.

"_Well, I'm impressed little sis, your boy is really something, he takes a lot after you, it's really quite touching"_ said a voice that they all recognized, Applejack felt her heart stop, as she leaned in and began speaking.

"Shine, what have you done with them, if you've hurt them, I swear I will-" she was about to finish, but was cut off by Shine laughing, _"oh don't worry their fine, for now, here's what's going to happen, you and your friends will return to PonyVille, so you can confront your past once and for all, and for the Captain Shining Armor and Commander Comet, if your listening to this, and I know you are, if I see any interference by your troops, I will kill the hostages, if you want them to live, I would keep out of this, the choice is your little sis, come back here and try to save your family, or stay and Canterlot, and hide like the coward you are, the choice is yours, you have two days to decide, if you're not here by sundown then, I will kill them, the choice is yours" _he said as the line went dead fully, and they were unable to get it back.

They all turned to Applejack who just stood there, with a shocked expression on her face, the first to speak up was Celestia, "it appears the situation is worse than we thought, come we need to make plans" she said as they all exited the room, Applejack followed behind them.

(PonyVille, Sweet Apple Acres barn)

After he cut the line, Shine smiled and jumped up to the main room, he looked over and saw Dark Star and Solar Glaze struggling against the ropes that were tied around them, he walked up to them with a smile.

"I suppose I should thank you, the entire time, I was thinking of a way to get her back here, but you did that for me, you just made my job easier" he said as he began walking out of the barn, "if you want her to suffer, why don't you just kill us now, what are you waiting for, are you scared or something?" Dark Star said in a brave tone, Shine stopped and walked back up to him, he took out his pistol and pointed it at him, "I could do it, I could kill you, right here, right now, it would give me one less headache to deal with, but if I want her to truly suffer, the way I did, then I want her to see you die, with her own two eyes, only then will she understand my pain, but for now you get to live, for now" he said as he holstered his pistol, and they all began walking out of the room, as the rope was cut from behind them, letting them free, they watched as he left the barn, with a smile on his face.

**A/N: well, that was surely intense, were coming up on the end of the story, just a few more chapters to go, and it is going to be good, I hope you enjoyed, see you guys next time, peace.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: here is the next chapter for this story, and we get closer and closer to the end, hope you enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 10: hard decisions**

After they left the Royal Guard headquarters, they returned to the throne room, where they would make plans on how to stop this pony, the situation had grown worse, they had to find a way to save the hostages without having the royal guard or the E.S.S. interfere.

Many of them threw out possible ideas, but it was countered in some way, the room was filled with the voices of Applejack's friends arguing, thinking of ways to save her family and stop Appleshine, one of Comet's lieutenant's said that they should just storm the place, regardless of any casualties, when she heard it her first impulse was to slap the stallion, but she restrained herself.

Flame would argue that they can't risk any lives, she would agree with him, Dark Star was his friend, but he was her husband, she just continued to listen to their arguing until she had finally had enough.

"Enough!" she shouted over the group, loud enough to catch their attention, she had an angry look on her face, they all looked at her in surprise, even the Princesses were shocked by her outburst, when she knew she had their attention, she started talking.

"ya'll are trying to think of the right thing to do, but it should be my decision, ah should be the one to say what we are going to do" she said in a loud voice, they all thought about it for a moment, until one of Comet's lieutenants spoke up, "sorry to disappoint you, but you don't know the first thing about handling a hostage situation, just let the professional's handle it" he said with a smug look on his face, Applejack just wanted to slap him so hard, but she wanted to control her anger.

"Well, you're acting like casualties aren't a big thing, that's my family; ah won't let you get them killed" she said in anger, they stayed quiet until Celestia spoke up, "she's right lieutenant, the least we can do is let her make the choice, this is her family were talking about" she said, Applejack looked at her gratefully, and she started walking past all of them.

"what is it you suggest, he said we cannot interfere, or they'll die" Shining Armor said, she began pacing back and forth, then she looked at all of them, with a solemn look on her face, "he wants me to go back to the farm, then that's what ah'll do" she said, they all looked at her in disbelief, Flame took a step forward, "Applejack, I know you think it's the right thing to do, but your just giving yourself to him, it's suicide, you can't face him" he said with worry in his eyes, Applejack just smiled at him.

"Flame, ah know you want to protect me, but ah spent so many years running from the past, it's time that ah face it, no matter the consequence, this is something ah have to do, Dark Star may be your friend, but he is my husband, and Solar Glaze is my son, ah won't let him hurt them, even if ah have to die trying" she said in an honest tone, Flame didn't like it, but he knew she was right, he sighed sadly, "you know what it might mean, whether you win or lose, I just hope you know the consequences, he is your brother" he said, Applejack looked at all of them.

"ah know, but he has hurt my family and my friends, brother or not, he has to be stopped, before this goes any further" she said in a confident voice, Flame sighed again, and then looked back at all the others, "then we'll help you, he said he wants all of us there, we have the advantage" he said, turning back to the others, "how do we have the advantage, he has hostages and the entire area locked down, in what part is that good for us" Comet said in an obvious tone.

Flame looked at him, and then all the others, "true he does have hostages, and the area under lockdown, but we have something better, we have some of the most advanced weaponry and armor in the Equestrian military, and I think they are underestimating our will to fight, if he wants us, he'll get us" he said and they all began agreeing, even Twilight who usually avoided conflicts like this, but her friend and her family was in danger, so she agreed.

"Well, I think we know what we need to do, but we'll probably need to borrow an air ship to get there" he said looking up at the Princess's, Celestia and Luna just smiled at him, "we will supply anything you need, to stop him, we still have your suit of armor Flame, if you want it" Celestia said with a smile, Flame just shook his head.

"With all due respect your highness, this isn't a full scale war, I don't think I will need it, but I would like my knife and cloak" he said with a smile.

(Canterlot castle, royal guard armory)

They all stood in the same room, getting their gear together, Shining Armor and Comet agreed to keep their distance, but they would keep in touch, through a small ear piece that they were given, Applejack stood in the corner, watching them all get ready, soon a royal guard walked up to her, with a knife and a folded cloak, in his hooves, he smiled as he handed it to Applejack who took it.

"It's from the Captain; he wanted to make sure that you were ready for any situation, and this as well" he said as he lifted up another vest like item, it surprised Applejack as she took it.

"What is it?" she asked examining it, it was thicker and heavier than a cloak, but it didn't seem heavy enough to slow her down very much, "it's a vest, it's supposed to stop bullets, so you can still move even after being shot, it only cover your chest and stomach, so don't get shot anywhere else" he said as a bell began ringing, signaling that it was time to go, she watched as he walked away, as all the other left the room, just leaving her alone.

She looked at the vest in interest, she put it on, it did feel heavy, but after a few moments, she was moving like she normally could, she strapped on the knife holster, with the knife in it, and then put the cloak on, and walked out of the room.

(Canterlot castle, air field)

As the cam on o the runway, they approached the enormous air ship, that they were being allowed to use, they all waited for the ramp to open, soon the heard a loud hissing sound and the ramp began to lower, they all turned and saw the Princess Celestia coming towards them, Luna walking next to her.

When they got there, they all took a bow, and rose up and looked at her with smiles on their faces, "good luck to you all, let us hope things go the way we planned, especially for you Applejack" she said as she leaned down and touched her horn to her shoulder and then to her other shoulder, as if she was knighting her.

She looked up at her with a smile, "thank you Princess, for everything" she said as she turned to all her friends, who had smiles on their faces as well, "alright then, let's do this" she said and they all cheered as they began to board the ship, Applejack followed last, and soon, the ramp closed behind her.

The engines roared to life, as they came up to the bridge, all they could do now was wait until they arrived.

Applejack had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she knew she had to do this, not just for her sake, but her family's, she took a deep breath, as the ship lifted off the ground, and moved up into the sky, she looked out the window, and watched as Canterlot grew father and farther away.

She turned her head to the horizon, and watched as the town of PonyVille grew closer, and she grew closer to her fate.

**A/N: well, there you have it the third to last chapter, next time, it will all go down, come back next time, as Applejack confronts her brother, for the final time.**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: here it is, the second to last chapter for this story, read and enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: chapter 11: confronting the past**

It took a day's time, but eventually, the air ship landed at the PonyVille air field, and they all exited, most of them got the chance to rest, all except Applejack, who was kept awake, her gut told her that it wasn't going to end well, she never found a comfortable position, only once did she fall asleep, but it was not for long.

They arrived in PonyVille, and got off the ship, they regrouped outside the ship, "okay, Shining Armor and I will stay in the ship and keep our distance as promised, but we'll be in touch, when you get the hostages, you call us, and we will move in, and catch this son of a bitch, but make sure the hostages are secure first, alright this is it, let's do this, watch each other's back, take care all of you" Comet said and they returned to the ship, and the ramp closed behind them.

They all looked at each other and huddled together one last time, knowing that it could possibly be the last time they might see each other, after they separated, and began the journey to the farm.

Lucky for them, the air field I closest to the farm, so they could avoid, going in to town and arousing suspicion, they walked for a while, when the orchard came in to view, the sky was dark and cloudy, as if nature was reflecting the mode in the air, a cold wind passed through the orchard and hit them, making them shiver, but Applejack held a stoic expression, as they came to the entrance.

And finally they reached it, there they stood under the sign, they could see the house, completely empty, or so they thought, no lights were on, it was completely silent, there was no sign of life anywhere, but they knew they were being watched, Applejack took the first step in, and nothing seemed to happen, then they all started moving in, they made their across the yard, as they grew closer and closer to the house, suddenly they heard a twig snap, they turned around and saw multiple ponies walking out of the orchard.

They looked around and saw as more ponies began coming from their hiding places, and surrounding them, forcing them into a circle, all facing in each direction, until they were completely surrounded, by a circle.

They all watched as one of them stepped out, with his hood up, they watched a he lifted his hoof up to, and slowly began to remove his hood, Applejack half expected it to be her brother, but it turned out to be an ordinary pony.

"Well, glad you could make it, and earlier than we expected, your very punctual, that's good" he said with a sick smile, Applejack took a step forward, "where is my family, you bastard, where are you keeping them, tell me now" she said in a dark tone of voice, the other pony seemed a bit uneasy, he just took a step back, and raised his hoof.

"Kill them all, except for her" he said pointing at Applejack, all the ponies around them unsheathed their knives, and so did they, waiting for them to make a move, suddenly one of the shouted out and charged right at Flame, he saw this coming, and ducked under him, when he jumped into the air, Flame rose up and used his force, to throw the pony the other way, soon all the others yelled out, and charged at them, the fight had begun.

Applejack was not particularly trained in fighting, but she learned a few things from Flame and Dark Star, soon they were all fighting, they were surrounded and outnumbered, but they were better fighters.

Flame just finished off an attacker when he saw his wife get tackled to the ground, the mere sight of it, sent his anger boiling, his horn started to glow and he shot a blast of magic at him, knocking him off her, Twilight was skilled in offensive magic, but she learned a few physically offensive moves from Flame earlier in their marriage, and she trained with him as well, and was a decent fighter.

Soon their attackers began to back off and head into the house, "come on, they must be in the house, let's go!" Flame shouted, as he ran up to Applejack, "you go, ah'll go and check out the barn, ah'll regroup with you later, just go!" she shouted as she took off running to the barn, Flame sighed and ran with the others into the house.

They opened the front door, and saw more of Shine's group, behind them lay a tied up Applebloom and Big Macintosh, lying on their sides, cloth in their mouths, Flame and the others got into fighting positions, as they charged at the enemy, the were again outnumbered, but Flame was very skilled in close quarter combat, and he took out, a large amount of them, until they were all defeated, Flame ran up and cut the ropes around Applebloom, and took the cloth out of her mouth, she gagged and turned to him, "Applebloom, where are the others?" she asked he looked at him with a scared look.

"I think there in the house somewhere, I'm not sure" she said, as Big Mac was cut from his restraints, they then went to search the rest of the house.

(Sweet Apple Acres, barn)

After they split up, Applejack approached the barn slowly, making sure there were any attackers, she looked all around the barn, until she came to the door, she took a deep breath, and opened it, to her surprise it wasn't locked, there were a few lamps lit, but no sign of anypony in there, she opened the door fully, and walked in cautiously, trying to be made aware of her surroundings, as she stepped further into the barn, almost to the middle of the room.

She felt the presence of another pony, she turned around sharply and found that there wasn't anypony there, she began to relax, when she heard the sound of hay crunching under another pony's hoof, she felt sweat trickle down her face, she turned around sharply, and came face to face with a hooded pony, a smile on his face, "glad to see you made it, little sis" he said with a smile, Applejack was about to react, but was met with hard slap in the face, that sent her flying into the pillar, she hit her head and her vision became blurred, but she watched as the hooded pony, walked past her and up to the door, with a smile.

"We don't want any disturbances do we?" he said as he closed the door, and used the latch to make sure that nopony could get in, from the outside.

Then he turned his attention back to his sister and took off his hood, when Applejack saw his face, fear filled hers, as she tried to scoot back, he began talking to her, "you still surprise me, I thought you would stay and hide in Canterlot, and let your family die, but I will say I'm happily surprised, but the game ends here, it's time we end this" he said as he faced her and began walking towards her, Applejack pushed herself on her hooves and faced him.

"I agree, but I doesn't have to end like this, where is Dark Star and Solar Glaze, what have you done with them?" she demanded but he didn't seem affected, he just continued walking towards her in a slow pace, she decided to take action, and unsheathed her knife, this made him stop, but he just burst out laughing, "this I didn't expect, you actually think you can fight me, that's hilarious, but if you insist" he said as they began circling each other.

Applejack decided to make the first move, and she charged forward, screaming wildly, when she was close enough, Shine smiled and punched her straight in the face, she fell to the ground and cried out in pain, he just smiled and picked her up, and pinned her up against the pillar, a smile on his face.

"Come on AJ, let's face the facts, if your family dies, it will only be your fault, you killed them all, your husband, your son, your closest friends, all because you didn't prepare for this day, they'll die and you'll only have yourself to blame" he said with a smile, as he applied pressure to her throat, making her choke, he just simply smiled.

He just continued to smile as he spun around and threw her to the middle of the room, "you want to fight, I'll make it a little more fair, get up, so you at least have a chance to fight back, or else it will be to easily" he said, Applejack took a deep breath and stood up to face him, she picked up her dropped knife, and faced him, he just let out a chuckle.

"so be it" he said as he took out his knife and charged at her, when he was close enough, he leaped into the air, Applejack just moved to the side, and he landed a few feet from her, he balanced on his front hooves, and kicked Applejack in the chest, sending her across the room, he just smiled and wiped the sweat from his face, and began walking towards her.

She got up and swung her blade at him, he just moved his head back, as she swung again, this time with her hoof, she hit him across the face, shocked by her speed he failed to block the next blow, that him back, he growled as he swung his hoof, getting a hit, they stood there swinging their hooves at each other, trading blows, suddenly Applejack turned and ran, he yelled and ran after her, as he chased her, she looked up and began jumping on top of the boxes, when she tried to jump on to the next, she fell down, she turned only to see Shine grabbing on to her back hoof, "I got you now, you're not getting away" he said as he tried to pull her down.

Applejack struggled to break free, but he was too strong, she looked up and saw an unlit lamp, on top of the next box, she reached her hoof out, but slipped as he tried to climb after her, she reached up, and barely grabbed it with her hoof, she caught it, just as he pulled her down to the ground, the lamp fell with her, and she fell on her stomach.

She cried out in pain, as Shine walked towards her, "nice try, but you can't get away" he said, Applejack reached for the lamp, she picked it up in her hooves, and spun around swinging it, yelling out in anger, her swing came to fast, and the lamp hit Shine in the side of the head, he cried out in pain, as the glass shattered all over his face, he fell to the ground, and Applejack took this chance to make a run for it.

She only made it a few feet before she was tackled from behind, , Shine screamed in rage as he flipped her on to her back and raised his knife up, Applejack's eyes widened, she reached up and stopped his hoof, he tried forcing his knife down on her, "I was just going to make you suffer, but now, I'm going to kill you" he said in a strained voice, Applejack felt her muscles weaken, Shine smiled as he pushed down more, Applejack's resistance weakening.

Suddenly Applejack, raised her back hoof up, and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, Applejack used her free hoof to punch him off of her, he flew off, and to the ground with a cry of pain, when he got up and faced her, she saw blood running down the side of his face, from where she hit him with the lamp, his eyes filled with hate, but he gave off a lite chuckle, "maybe you are a good fighter, I'm impressed, but It's not good enough to defeat me" he said as they stared each other down.

"Appleshine stop this, before it's too late, what would you achieve from all this, tell me?" she asked his smile disappeared, "shut up!, you will feel the pain I felt" he said, "from what, an accident, you know it won't bring her back, or your son" she shouted, he just growled, "shut up, I've waited years for this, I won't stop now, you'll pay for what you did to me" he shouted back.

"it happened years ago, why can't you move on, stop acting like a foal, holding a grudge this long, your worse than I was when I was younger!" she shouted, he open his eyes, they were filled with pure rage.

"You bitch!" he shouted as he charged at her and jumped in the air, she dodged to the side, as he began swinging his blade wildly, not caring what he hit, as long as it was her.

As she ran she saw another lamp, only tis one was lite, she got an idea; she continued to avoid his swings, she reached up and grabbed the lamp, and tried to swing it, only this time he saw it coming, and ducked under it, applejack was surprised by his evasion, he smiled and rammed her in the stomach, and into a pillar, she dropped the lamp, and it broke on the floor, the fire began to spread on the ground, Shine grabbed Applejack's head and slammed her into the pillar, she cried out in pain, and fell to the floor.

He just smiled, Applejack's vision became blurry, but she looked up and saw the fire moving along the floor, it seemed to be following a trail, she looked up, and her eyes widened, when she saw it was going up to the canister of fuel, they used to refill the lamps, she knew it would blow, she rolled to the side and ducked behind, a cart.

Shine looked behind him, his eyes widened when he saw what was going on.

(Meanwhile…)

By this time they had almost fully cleared the house, they were on the second floor, searching for the others, Flame approached Applejack and Dark Star's room, he came up to the door, and shoved it open, he looked around and his eyes wandered to the center of the room, and much to his surprise and relief, Dark Star and Solar Glaze sat there, tied up together, both gagged, they looked up and their eyes opened in shock and relief.

Flame ran forward and cut the ropes and untied them, "there you guys are, I thought you would be in the barn, Applejack went there looking for you" he said as he they took the cloth from their mouths, and coughed, "no there's nopony there, it was a trap, he's waiting thee for her, we need to go" he said, as he pushed himself up.

Just as they did, they heard a loud explosion some from the barn, they all looked out the window, and saw that there was a bright glowing coming from inside the barn, Dark Star's eyes widened, and he ran out of the room.

(Sweet Apple Acres, barn)

Applejack ducked behind the cart, just before the canister exploded, the room filled with a bright flash and loud bang, that nearly made her deaf, but just as quick as it came it stopped, and she looked from behind her spot, the canister explosion, set that part of the barn on fire, and it grew larger thanks to the hay everywhere.

She stepped out from her spot, and looked for her brother, but did not see him, just as she let herself relax, she turned around and came face to face with him, "thought it would be that easy" he said as he punched her in the face, sending her to the other side of the room, she skidded across the floor, up to the Flame, she rolled out of the way, before her mane could catch fire.

She tried to get up, but Shine grabbed her by her mane, and pulled her up, causing her to cry out in pain, he picked her up and punched her in the face again, sending her to the ground, Applejack cried out in pain, Shine walked up to her again.

He delivered a hard kick to her stomach, making her roll over, and then he hit her again, making her cough up blood, "that's it, I through playing games with you, this end's now" he said as he was about to punch her again, but was stopped when he heard banging on the door, Applejack it's us, are you in there" he heard Flame call out, his anger boiled, he turned back to her, and then walked over to a pile of hay, that wasn't on fire, the entire time, Applejack tried to stand up, she looked to her side, and saw Shine's knife, she picked it up, and stood up, despite the pain.

Shine walked over to a spot on the pile, he pushed some away to reveal a pistol he had kept for emergencies, just in case things didn't go his way, if he couldn't kill her family, at least he could kill her, he smiled until he heard a voice come from behind, "hey Shine!" she yelled, he turned to her and saw her coming at him with his own knife, "lose something" she said, Shine just smiled, "no, I found something" he said as he rained the pistol and pulled the trigger.

Applejacks eyes shot open, as shot open as the bullet hit her in the chest, making her fly on to her back, she cried out in pain, as Shine walked up to her and loaded another bullet, he walked up right beside her, looking down at her with anger in his eyes, Applejack just looked up at him, in fear.

He pointed the gun at her, and pulled the trigger hitting her in the shoulder, causing her to roll on to her side, he smiled as he stared down at her, he was sure she was dead, he just through the gun to the side, and began walking around to find a way out, as he walked up to the door, he heard something scrape across the floor, he turned around and saw something that shocked him, his sister was gone, she just vanished, he began looking around in all directions as he walked over to wear she was, and picked up the pistol, he let out a lite chuckle, "aren't we a little too old to play hide and seek, little sis, come on out" he said as he began looking in all directions, he was sure he shot her, how was she alive, he looked down and began loading the gun.

Just as he did, he heard a loud scream come from behind, and sudden weight put on his back, causing him to fall to the floor, and the gun to roll across the ground out of his reach, he was rolled on to his back, he looked up and was shocked to see Applejack looking down at him, her eyes filled with hate, his knife in her grip.

"I-I shot you, that's not possible" he said, she looked at him, and lifted her cloak, revealing the bullet proof vest, with the two bullet holes in it, he was shocked, how did she know about it, "one thing you did teach me, always come prepared, for whatever the situation might be" she said, he just l laughed, "you would kill your own brother, I still won, your family is dead" he said, as the knocking on the door became louder, "Applejack, just hold on, we'll be there soon" Dark Star's voice came through the door, despite the burning fire, they could still hear them, the fire had spread around them, making the building weaker by the second.

She looked back at him, with anger in her eyes, he was too shocked to speak, "guess you're wrong there" she said as she raised the knife up, and brought it down on his shoulder, he screamed out in pain, as the knife pierced his shoulder, and blood poured from the wound, he yelled as Applejack let go, his breathing became rapid and short, as he looked back up at her with tears in his eyes, Applejack felt moistness in her eyes, as he lost his ability to speak at the moment, the pain in his shoulder was too immense.

She let go of the knife and sat up, he tried to grab it with his hoof, and tried to pull it out, but cried out in pain when it failed, Applejack felt a tear fall from her eye, he was still her brother, seeing him in pain, made her cry, despite the things he did.

Suddenly the barn door flew open, and all of her friends, as well as E.S.S. soldiers and Royal Guards, they were all shocked by what they saw, Applejack had her brother pinned down, a knife wedged into his shoulder, he was too distracted to pay attention to them, his breathing became more rapid.

"What happened in here?" Flame asked, she didn't answer him; she just looked down at her brother, who was breathing more rapid, she reached down and took his hoof in hers, his grip was tight, as they looked into each other's eyes, tears forming in his, Applejack felt tears pouring down her cheeks, even with the building burning, it looked like he was struggling to say something, but the words would not come out, after he tried, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his head fell back, and it did not move again, Applejack felt more tears pouring down her face, even the other's shed some tears, despite everything he did, he was still her brother, and now he was dead.

She sighed sadly, and pushed herself up, and walked back to the others, the first to do anything was Solar Glaze, who ran up to her and hugged her, tears in his eyes, she smiled happily as Dark Star walked up to her, she smiled and threw her hooves around him, they just stayed like that for a few minutes, when they returned to reality, and realized that the building would come down at any minute.

They started to make their way out, but were stopped by a loud scream, they turned around and saw none other than Shine running at them, a knife in his grip, the other knife still in his shoulder, he screamed loudly, as he ran at them, the first to react was Dark Star who pulled the pistol from Flame's holster, and pulled the trigger, the bullet hit Shine in between the eyes, and he flew back a few feet into the fire, they knew he was truly dead, a shocked look on all their faces, especially Applejack.

They stayed like that all silent, and then the building began to creak and groan, they realized that it was coming down, they all ran out of the building, and out to the royal guards who were surrounding the place, they turned and watched as the building finally collapsed on itself, and erupted in a large ball of fire.

Some of the Royal Guard ponies, began using hoses to put out the fire, they all just walked back, thunder erupted in the sky, and ran began to fall, soaking all of them, and putting out the fire.

The E.S.S. soldiers scouted the area, arresting the members of Shine's group, Applejack just stood there staring at the fallen building, tears in her eyes, Dark Star came up and hugged her, she brought her hoof up to his, and they turned and walked away, tears in their eyes.

It was finally over.

**A/N: well…I was getting teary eyed around the last part, I don't know about you, but this was fun to write, only one chapter left, see you then.**


	13. epilogue

**A/N: here it is the final chapter, hope you all enjoyed this story, it sure was fun, writing it, enjoy.**

**Family is Forever: epilogue**

It had been a day since the confrontation between Applejack and her older brother, and they all still felt sad at Applejack's loss, despite the horrible things he did, he was still her brother, he was still family, out of all of them Applejack seemed to be the most affected, considering she was part of the reason he died, even though Dark Star delivered the killing blow.

The normal citizens of PonyVille, heard of the fire at the farm, but the real truth was hidden, to avoid any sort of panic, it pained them to keep such a secret, but they knew it was necessary.

Everything seemed to be normal, Applejack and the other were taken to the hospital, to have their injuries taken care of, especially Applejack, which had the worst injuries, cuts and bruises along her body, slight internal damage from the times Shine kicked her in the stomach, and bleeding from the head, when she was slammed into the wall.

But thanks to the fast acting doctors and nurses, she was returned to her normal self, and would be allowed to leave the hospital, later that day.

(PonyVille, hospital)

Flame and Twilight entered into the main room, and walked up to the receptionist, she saw them and turned to face them, "can I help you?" she asked, Flame decided to speak up first, "yes, we're here to pick up our friend Applejack, she was supposed to be out today" he said, the receptionist pulled out a book, and skimmed through the pages, until she found what she was looking for.

She looked up at them with a smile, "ah yes, she was just getting finished up, I'll take you to her, please follow me" she said as they walked down the hall, they went up to the second floor, passing other rooms, Applejack was the last one to be released, the injuries on the other's weren't as severe, Flame himself received no major injuries, other than some slight bruises and some small cuts, but he simply used basic medicine to heal them.

Soon they came up to a specific room, she opened the door, and they walked in, the first thing they saw was Applejack sitting on the side of a bed, with a doctor standing in front of her, he was dunking a cotton ball into a liquid and gently applying it to her face, shoulders, and chest, each time he did, she would cringe in pain, indicating that it stung greatly.

As they stepped in closer, the doctor finished up, and began making his way to the door, Applejack turned to them and smiled, her face was covered with small bandages, and one big one near the top of her head, they walked over to her and smiled, Twilight wrapped her into a hug, one that she greatly returned.

"hey Applejack, we came to get you, you think you're ready to go?" Flame asked as she began pushing herself off the bed, with some help from Twilight, they walked up to him, she had a slight limp, in her walk, but she still seemed fine.

She smiled at him, as she came up to him, "yeah, ah'll be fine, doctor said I just need to rest for a day or two, and then I'm back to myself" she said with a slight chuckle, after she stopped laughing, and uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Flame just looked around nervously.

"how you holding up, with…what happened?" he asked, Applejack and Twilight frowned, knowing what he meant, she took a deep breath, and looked up at him, "it might take some time, but ah think ah'll be okay, not sure if things will ever be the same" she said with a sad look on her face, Flame understood her pain, he knew what it felt like to lose those close to you.

"listen Applejack, things are going to return to normal, you just have to give it time, you'll see…but if you feel like you can't do it, you and your family are more than welcome to stay with us at the library, if you fell that you can't go back, just yet" he said in a kind tone.

Applejack looked up at him, and did her best to smile, "ah appreciate the offer Flame, but ah promise, ah'll be fine, thank you" she said, Flame smiled and they made their way out of the room, and out of the hospital.

(two days later…)

Shortly after the area was cleared, as a gift from the Princess, rebuilding of the barn, began as soon as she returned, and they had already finished the outer shell of the building, it would take another day or two, before it was finished, but they didn't mind, they just stored most of the stuff in the basement of the house, until it was complete.

Just as the doctor ordered, Applejack rested for the time, but she was finally allowed to do work again, she was in the orchard, bucking apple trees, she just finished picking up the apples off the ground and throwing them into the basket, she put the basket on her back, and made her way back to the house.

As she came out of the orchard, she saw Dark Star sorting through good and bad apples, putting them into separate baskets, she smiled as she walked up to him, and placed the basket next to him, she looked and saw Big Mac taking the baskets of good apples into the basement, to put in the barn once it was complete.

"ah think that's it for today, my muscles are sore, I'm going to head inside, see you then" she said giving Dark Star a kiss on the cheek, and walking past him, they finished up to and headed in after her.

As they stepped into the house, they walked in past her, she walked in behind them and closed the door behind her, when she heard her younger sisters voice, from behind, "come on Applejack, let's make that pie, you promised a while back, you said you would let me do it" she said as she ran off into the kitchen.

Applejack smiled, she felt that everything had returned to normal, just as it should be, "alright, ah'll be right there" she said as she began walking away, just as she took a few steps, she heard the sound of hinges creaking, she looked behind an saw the door slowly opening, she was sure she closed it hard enough, but she felt it was different, that there was another presence there with her, but a gentle and kind one, and it had a familiarity to it, but she couldn't quite understand what it was, but she didn't care.

She looked at the door, and let a single tear fall from her eye, and then the presence went away, and her mind wandered back to reality, she just smiled and walked away, convinced that there was no need to close it, that she no longer needed to worry about her safety, or that of her own family.

She smiled and walked into the kitchen, with a happy smile on her face, and joined her little sister in the kitchen, with her husband and her son, it was something that many ponies cherished, some would give their lives for theirs, and Applejack was no different, it was that most important thing to her, and she was grateful for it, and she would cherish it always.

That is the true meaning of family.

THE END

**A/N: well there you have it, that's the end, once again, I hope you enjoyed the story, with this one finished, were one step closer to the big finale, see you guys next time.**


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